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Summary

This text combines scholarly expertise, thepersonal touchof an outstanding teacher, and afamily life education framework toexplore the dynamics of family life and intimate relationships. We are all a product of our families of origin. How that influences who we are and who we become is a central theme woven throughoutFamily Life Today. This book uses thefamily life educationapproachto explore familial and intimate relationships. Throughout the text, theoretical frameworks from the fields of sociology, family studies, psychology, and other social sciences are integrated so that they can be applied to real life situations, thus illustrating how theoretical constructs help inform our understanding of ourselves and our relationships. The text also presents enough biological science to explain some of the physical realities of who we are and why we behave as we do.

Table of Contents

Preface

To You, the Student

xxi

To the Instructor

xxiii

Acknowledgments

xxx

Family Life Now

1

(33)

Studying Marital and Intimate Relationships

2

(4)

Family Life Education: The Study of Family through a Family Lens

4

(2)

What Family Life Education Is---and Is Not

6

(1)

Understanding Today's Families

6

(11)

What Is ``Family''?

7

(1)

Family Life Then: Family Life in Colonial America

8

(1)

The Changing Family Landscape

8

(4)

Family Life Now: Is the American Family Deteriorating?

12

(2)

The Socioeconomic Status of Families

14

(1)

Racial and Ethnic Family Composition

15

(2)

Understanding Marriage

17

(6)

Marriage as a Social Union

17

(1)

Healthy Selves/Healthy Families: Why the Premarital Blood Test?

18

(1)

Marriage as a Religious Act

18

(1)

American Marriage

19

(1)

Social and Economic Aspects of Marriage

20

(1)

Marital Types

20

(2)

America's Vast Diversity

22

(1)

Family Interactions and You

23

(6)

The Human Life Cycle

23

(2)

The Family Life Cycle

25

(4)

The Family Table: What Is Your Definition of Family?

29

(1)

Family Life Education

29

(5)

Summary

30

(1)

Key Terms and Concepts

31

(1)

Multiple Choice Questions

31

(2)

Suggested Reading

33

(1)

Family Contexts: The Many Areas of Family Life

34

(42)

Family Contexts: An Introduction

36

(11)

The Ecological Model

36

(4)

Family Life Then: The Way We Never Were

40

(1)

The Traditional Family

40

(2)

Contemporary Families

42

(3)

The Family Table: Talking with Children about Diversity

45

(2)

The Economic Context

47

(7)

Dual-Earner Couples

49

(2)

The Impact of Work on Family Relationships

51

(1)

Family Life Now: Is Daycare Harmful to a Child's Development?

52

(2)

The Religious Context

54

(5)

Defining Spirituality and Religiosity

55

(4)

The Government Context: Family Policy and Family Life

59

(11)

Poverty

59

(6)

Health and Healthcare

65

(1)

Education

66

(1)

Healthy Selves/Healthy Families: The Imperatives of Healthcare for All

67

(2)

Social Welfare

69

(1)

Family Life Education

70

(6)

Taking Sides: Is It Really Necessary for Couples to Share Religion or Spirituality?

71

(1)

Summary

72

(1)

Key Terms and Concepts

73

(1)

Multiple Choice Questions

74

(1)

Suggested Reading

75

(1)

Understanding Families through Research and Theory

76

(28)

Understanding Families through Research

78

(13)

Social Science Research

78

(1)

The Research Method: Start to Finish

79

(8)

Making Sense of It All: How to Read Social Science Literature

87

(2)

Research Ethics and Integrity

89

(2)

Family Life Now: Why Are Ethics in Research Important?

91

(1)

Understanding Families through Theory

91

(9)

Theoretical Foundations for Studying Family

92

(1)

An Introduction to Family Theories

92

(8)

Family Life Education

100

(4)

Summary

100

(1)

Key Terms and Concepts

101

(1)

Multiple Choice Questions

102

(1)

Suggested Reading

103

(1)

Family Communication and Conflict

104

(38)

The Communication Process

106

(15)

Family Systems Theory: The Family as an Interconnected System

106

(2)

Family Life Then: Unlocking Family History

108

(5)

The Family Table: Family Diversity and Communication

113

(2)

Meanings: The Symbolic Interaction Framework

115

(1)

Family Life Now: Should Children Be Used as Language Brokers?

116

(5)

Types of Communication

121

(4)

Verbal Communication

122

(1)

Nonverbal Communication

123

(2)

Conflict in Relationships

125

(6)

Healthy Selves/Healthy Families: Are You Controlling Anger or Is It Controlling You?

126

(1)

What's All the Fuss? The Sources of Conflict

127

(1)

Types of Conflict

128

(3)

Cornerstones of Communication

131

(6)

Develop Relational Cultures

132

(1)

Use Confirming Messages and Responses

133

(1)

Self-Disclose

134

(1)

Communicate Often

134

(1)

Listen Actively

135

(1)

Use Humor: A Little Laugh Goes a Long Way

136

(1)

Family Life Education

137

(5)

Taking Sides: Why Are Men So Analytical? Why Do Women Talk So Much?

138

(1)

Summary

139

(1)

Key Terms and Concepts

140

(1)

Multiple Choice Questions

140

(1)

Suggested Reading

141

(1)

Gender in Today's Society

142

(36)

The Biological Foundation of Gender

144

(6)

It Matters: The Biology of Gender

144

(4)

When Nature Goes Amiss

148

(2)

The Social and Cultural Influences of Gender

150

(15)

It Matters: The Sociocultural Influences of Gender

150

(3)

The Family Table: Gender Role Conflict in Family Life

153

(1)

Family Life Then: The Taliban and Its Maltreatment of Women

154

(2)

Healthy Selves/Healthy Families: Gender, Emotion, and Family Living

156

(2)

Family Life Now: Is It Possible to Raise Gender-Neutral Children?

158

(3)

The Paradigms of Socialization

161

(4)

Gender and Contemporary Issues

165

(8)

Equality under the Law

165

(3)

Gender and the Influences of Media

168

(5)

Family Life Education

173

(5)

Taking Sides: Should Boys Play with Dolls? Should Girls Be Allowed to Play in Male-Dominated Sports, Such as Football?

174

(1)

Summary

174

(1)

Key Terms and Concepts

175

(1)

Multiple Choice Questions

176

(1)

Suggested Reading

177

(1)

Intimacy: Developing and Experiencing Affectionate Bonds

178

(30)

Intimacy: Do We Have a Need to Relate to Others?

180

(7)

Fulfilling Psychological Needs

181

(1)

The Role of Intimacy in Relationships

181

(3)

Components of Intimacy

184

(1)

Types of Intimates

185

(1)

Healthy Selves/Healthy Families: Intimacy Inventory

186

(1)

Developing Intimacy

187

(12)

The Psychosocial Development of Children

187

(3)

Family Table: How Does the Family Environment Affect Intimacy?

190

(2)

Adolescents' and Young Adults' Psychosocial Development

192

(4)

Family Life Now: Interracial Intimacy

196

(3)

Obstacles to Intimacy

199

(4)

Barriers to Developing Intimacy

199

(2)

Barriers to Establishing and Maintaining Intimacy

201

(2)

Family Life Education

203

(5)

Takings Sides: Can a Relationship Work When There Are Differing Intimacy Needs?

204

(1)

Summary

205

(1)

Key Terms and Concepts

206

(1)

Multiple Choice Questions

206

(1)

Suggested Reading

207

(1)

Love and Loving

208

(32)

Love Is a Cultural and Historical Experience

210

(5)

Collectivist Cultures

210

(1)

Individualistic Cultures

211

(1)

Family Life Now: Is Love the Basis for Marriage?

212

(1)

The History of Love and Romance

212

(3)

What Is Love?

215

(9)

Love as a Prototype

216

(1)

Passionate Love: Experiencing Love as Infatuation

217

(3)

Healthy Selves/Healthy Families: I Can't Help Falling in Love: The Science of Love

220

(1)

Companionate Love: Experiencing Love as a Commitment

221

(3)

Developing Love

224

(7)

First Experiences of Love

224

(1)

The Family Table: Jealousy

225

(1)

Attachment: An Emotional Bond

226

(2)

Family Life Then: Childhood Experiences of Love

228

(1)

Love Stories

228

(3)

Theories of Love and Loving

231

(4)

Lee's Six Types of Love Styles

231

(1)

Reiss's Wheel Theory of Love

232

(1)

Love Economic Model

233

(2)

Family Life Education

235

(5)

Taking Sides: Are There Gender Differences in Emotional and Affection Needs?

236

(1)

Summary

237

(1)

Key Terms and Concepts

238

(1)

Multiple Choice Questions

238

(1)

Suggested Reading

239

(1)

The Path to Commitment: Attraction, Dating, and Partnering

240

(36)

``Frisky Business'': Interpersonal Attraction Theories

242

(11)

Evolution Theory: The Evolution of Physical Attraction

242

(7)

Social Exchange Theory: The Rewards and Costs of Attraction

249

(2)

Filter Theory of Mate Selection

251

(2)

The Path to Commitment

253

(12)

Getting Together: Courtship, Dating, and the Twenty-First Century

253

(1)

Family Life Then: The History of Wooing

254

(5)

Healthy Selves/Healthy Families: Dating Violence and Date Rape

259

(3)

Relationship Development

262

(1)

The Family Table: The Essentials of a Great Relationship

263

(1)

Commitment

264

(1)

Nonmarital Cohabitation

265

(7)

Current Trends

265

(1)

Family Life Now: Unmarried to Each Other: Is Cohabitation a Trial Marriage or Playing Commitment?